Setting up an entirely new classroom.

After 24 years of teaching—and nine years in the same classroom—I knew exactly where everything belonged. I’m actually the opposite of a hoarder. If anything, I occasionally get so overstimulated by clutter that I throw things away…and sometimes regret it later.

Even though I regularly purged and kept only the materials I actually used, I had still accumulated years’ worth of supplies, resources, and classroom essentials.

Before I packed a single box, I did something that made the entire process so much easier.

I walked around my classroom and created an organization plan in a Google Doc for every cabinet, drawer, shelf, and storage space. In the plan I included pictures and notes about that space-what worked and what could be improved.

This is not a Pinterest or Instagram plan but a functional plan.

I literally wrote things like:

• Top cabinet by the sink
• Bottom cabinet by the sink
• Left cabinet
• Supply shelves

Below are a few examples. Don’t judge me too harshly-it was at the end of the school year!

I also leaned on one of the biggest ideas from my Understanding by Design training: begin with the end in mind.

As soon as I knew I would be moving, I started collecting copy paper boxes (and their glorious lids!). When it came time to pack, I didn’t try to cram each box as full as possible. Instead, I packed materials that belonged together. Keeping related items in the same box made unpacking much faster because I wasn’t hunting through multiple boxes to find everything I needed.

I also made sure to clearly label every box. Trust me—after a few weeks of summer break and classrooms being cleaned, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you forget what’s where. Good labels are worth the extra few seconds.

One thing many teachers don’t think about before moving is that you’ll probably inherit a classroom full of furniture, supplies, and instructional materials. In our district, the general rule is that anything a teacher personally purchased moves with them, while anything bought with school or district funds stays with the classroom.

That can leave you with duplicates of…well…just about everything.

My advice? Don’t feel like every inherited resource has to stay in your classroom. Keep the items you’ll actually use and move the extras to a shared storage area if your school has one. I certainly don’t need a million pattern blocks in one room!

Not only does this keep your classroom from becoming overcrowded, but it also ensures those school-owned resources remain available for future teachers instead of getting buried in a cabinet where no one remembers they’re there.

As you merge your own supplies with the resources already in the classroom, take your time and adjust your organizational plan as needed. This is the perfect opportunity to create systems that actually work for the way you teach.

Every August we spend hours making our classrooms beautiful, but very little time making them functional. Six weeks later we’re stuffing papers into random cabinets because we never decided where anything belonged.

Once students arrive, you won’t have the time—or the energy—to completely reorganize your cabinets.

My goal is to make every storage space so functional that I’m never tempted to shove things into a cabinet with the promise of “I’ll deal with it later.” Instead, I want every item to have a logical home so staying organized becomes the easy option, not another task on my to-do list.

A classroom that functions well isn’t about having the most storage bins or the prettiest labels—it’s about creating a space that works for you, supports your students, and saves you time throughout the year.

There’s nothing glamorous about cabinets and storage, but it’s completely worth the time spent upfront.

Of course, this is just the beginning of setting up a new classroom, but it’s a great starting place!

The post Moving To A New Classroom appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey.

After 24 years in upper elementary education, I knew exactly what worked. My classroom was organized and streamlined. Years of refining my practice had created systems that felt almost effortless. I knew my standards inside and out and had built a collection of lessons, activities, and resources that could meet students where they were—whether they needed extra support or a greater challenge. I  knew my teaching was effective.

So why would I leave all of that behind to start over?

It certainly wasn’t because I was unhappy. I loved my students. I loved my teammates. I loved teaching fourth grade. But over the last couple of years, I started noticing something I couldn’t quite ignore…

I needed to respark my creativity and excitement. Despite strongly disliking and resisting change, I thrive off growth and learning.

While teaching was still every bit as demanding, I realized that I had become incredibly comfortable. The constant challenge of figuring things out—the kind that stretches you as an educator—wasn’t there in the same way anymore. Instead of enjoying this, my tendency is to get restless, because I need that challenge to inspire or require me to grow as an educator.

Apparently my version of the seven-year itch is at nine years.

When the opportunity to teach the gifted pull-out class became available, I wasn’t looking for a way out of fourth grade. I was looking for a way to grow.

Gifted education would require me to think differently. I’d be designing curriculum again, creating new learning experiences, and stretching myself in ways I hadn’t for years. It was exciting and a little intimidating.

I spend a lot of time encouraging my students to embrace challenges that make them think differently. Eventually, I realized it was my turn to take that advice.

This new role will look very different from anything I’ve taught before. I’ll teach gifted students in first through fifth grade, spending one full day each week with each grade level. Saying that I’m nervous about teaching first grade one day a week would be an understatement!

I’ve spent the summer reading, researching, planning, sketching ideas, and creating. Some of those ideas will work beautifully. Others…not so much. That’s part of learning. Either way, I can’t wait to share the journey with you.

One thing won’t change. I still won’t create resources just to have something new to sell. Every resource I share will be something I’ve used, refined, and believe genuinely helps students learn. That’s always been my promise, and this new chapter won’t change it.

In many ways, this feels like my first year of teaching all over again. I’ll be designing new curriculum, discovering what works with different age groups, and stretching myself as an educator every single week. While that’s a little intimidating, it’s also incredibly exciting—because I’ve found that my best ideas usually come during seasons when I’m learning the most.

The post Starting Over: Why I Said Yes to a New Teaching Adventure appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey.

As someone whose only personal homeschooling experience came during the Covid years with my own children, I immediately laughed out loud. Those years taught me many things, but “easy” was definitely not one of them.

As I read through the comments, I found myself thinking about the message that word sends to parents. Whether you’re teaching in a classroom or teaching at the kitchen table, educating children is important, meaningful, exhausting work. Calling homeschooling “easy” can create unrealistic expectations for parents who are already carrying an enormous responsibility.

While I can’t offer advice on the day-to-day details of homeschooling, I can offer insight into something I’ve seen repeatedly as a teacher: the transition from homeschooling to traditional school.

I teach in a high-performing public school where many homeschooled students enter during fourth and fifth grade. Over the years, that experience has given me a unique perspective on some of the challenges these students may face — academically, socially, and emotionally — as they begin a completely new chapter.

My hope is that this post encourages and prepares parents who are considering making that transition in the future.

Encouraging Independence Before the Transition to Traditional School

One challenge many parents notice during the transition from homeschool to public school is the level of independence required during the school day.

When I work with my own children at home or one-on-one in the classroom, I notice how much easier it is for them to stay focused when an adult is nearby — guiding, redirecting, encouraging, or simply sitting beside them while they work. Honestly, most children work better with that kind of support, especially when they are younger.

In a traditional classroom setting, however, teachers are balancing the needs of many students at once. Even in excellent classrooms with attentive teachers, it simply isn’t possible to provide constant one-on-one support throughout the day. Because of this, students entering traditional school after homeschooling often need time to adjust to working more independently.

That doesn’t mean children should suddenly be expected to do everything on their own. Independence is a skill that develops gradually and looks different for every child depending on age, personality, attention span, and developmental readiness. Some children naturally need more redirection, reassurance, or accountability than others.

One thing I’ve noticed is that some students (including many traditional school students) become very accustomed to receiving immediate reassurance before moving on. In a classroom, though, children sometimes need to try, struggle a little, and problem-solve before a teacher is available to help. While that can feel uncomfortable at first, those moments often help children develop confidence because they begin to see that they are capable of figuring things out independently.

If you anticipate transitioning your child from homeschool to traditional school in the future, one helpful step is to slowly begin increasing opportunities for independent work at home. This doesn’t have to happen all at once. Small changes can make a big difference over time.

You might gradually:

• increase the amount of time your child works without immediate assistance
• encourage them to reread directions before asking for help
• build stamina for completing assignments independently
• practice waiting a few minutes before receiving feedback or correction.

The goal is helping children build confidence in their ability to work through challenges independently before entering a traditional school environment.

Productive Struggle

As a parent or teacher, there is almost nothing more unnatural than allowing a child to struggle. Every instinct in me wants to step in, fix the problem, and make things easier.

Over time, though, I realized that constantly rescuing my children sometimes prevented them from learning and growing — not just academically, but emotionally as well.

This was especially true with my oldest child. I was often too quick to remove obstacles or solve problems for her. By the time my second child came along, I had learned the value of stepping back and allowing him to work through challenges more independently.

These two pictures perfectly capture the difference.

One child spills a drink and creates a “caution sign” while waiting for me to clean up the mess. My youngest wants his sippy cup and decides he isn’t going to wait for anyone to get it for him. (And honestly, seeing that picture makes me emotional — it’s been YEARS since there’s been a sippy cup in my refrigerator!)

Allowing children to struggle without immediately intervening is difficult for me both as a parent and as a teacher, so I can only imagine how challenging this may feel for homeschooling parents who are working so closely with their children every day.

But children need opportunities to experience challenges and work through them independently. Of course, we never want children to feel defeated or hopeless. Productive struggle is not about overwhelming children or withholding support. Instead, it’s about teaching them how to persevere, problem-solve, and develop confidence in their ability to overcome challenges.

For struggle to be productive, the task must be within reach of the child. Giving children work that is completely inaccessible is frustrating, not beneficial. The goal is to provide challenges that require time, thinking, effort, and persistence — while still remaining achievable.

This can be especially important for high-achieving students. When children learn quickly and easily for many years, they can develop the belief that learning should always feel effortless. Then, when they finally encounter a genuinely difficult concept, they may experience frustration, anxiety, or self-doubt.

In my experience, it is much easier to develop a growth mindset when children are younger. When students learn early on that confusion, mistakes, and struggle are normal parts of learning, they are often more resilient when academic challenges become more complex later.

Ironically, one potential advantage of homeschooling is the ability to provide appropriately challenging work more consistently. In traditional classrooms, teachers are balancing a very wide range of academic needs, which can sometimes make it difficult to consistently challenge high-achieving students at the right level.

This does not mean children should be left entirely on their own. We still explicitly teach skills, model strategies, and provide guidance. The productive struggle begins when children apply those skills to authentic problem-solving tasks.

In many cases, the presence of struggle is actually a sign that the task is appropriately rigorous. If a child can complete a task immediately without much thought, the activity may not be challenging enough to promote deeper thinking.

In my classroom, when students begin a complex math task, I usually avoid helping them solve the problem for the first five minutes. They simply need to try something. It doesn’t have to be correct. They just need to begin.

(And of course, this only applies to tasks that are age- and developmentally appropriate for the individual child.)

During those first few minutes, I pay close attention to how students approach the problem. Their strategies, misconceptions, and thought processes tell me far more than a perfectly completed worksheet ever could.

After students have had time to think independently, I guide them with questions rather than immediately telling them what to do. Children need opportunities to learn that it is okay to try, fail, adjust, and try again.

Our words and actions should consistently communicate one important message:
I believe you are capable of solving hard things.

When children are given opportunities to overcome age-appropriate challenges, they develop confidence that transfers into new situations — including the transition from homeschool to traditional school. Over time, these experiences help children become more independent and resilient problem-solvers.

Don’t take it Personally

One of my closest friends was an incredible first grade teacher and an exceptionally skilled reading instructor. When she chose to homeschool her children, her oldest two learned to read with ease. But her third child struggled significantly.

She did all the “right” things. She worked harder than she ever imagined possible. She researched, adjusted, reteached, practiced, encouraged, and persevered. Yet despite all of that effort, learning to read was still difficult for him.

Watching her walk through that experience made one thing incredibly clear to me: sometimes children struggle academically for reasons that are far bigger than effort, parenting, or teaching quality.

The reality is that learning disabilities and learning differences are very common. Teaching a child with learning challenges — whether in a homeschool setting or a traditional classroom — can make the educational process significantly more complicated and emotionally exhausting.

That does not mean you are doing something wrong.
And it certainly does not mean your child is incapable of success.

As both a teacher and a parent, I think one of the most damaging messages we send is the idea that learning is always simple if adults just “try harder” or “read more” with children. While those suggestions are often well-intentioned, they can unintentionally create guilt and feelings of inadequacy for parents and teachers who are already working incredibly hard.

The encouraging news is that students with learning disabilities and learning differences absolutely can succeed in school. Sometimes they simply need additional support, different instructional approaches, more time, or specialized intervention.

One benefit of transitioning from homeschool to public school is that families often gain access to additional academic resources, intervention programs, specialists, and support systems that can help students thrive.

Most importantly, children need adults who continue believing in their ability to grow — even when learning feels difficult.

Don’t Depend Too Heavily On One Program

Curriculum programs can be incredibly helpful, but it’s important not to rely too heavily on any single program or resource. There is no perfect curriculum.

I create and sell educational resources myself — and I genuinely love using them — but I still supplement with a variety of programs, strategies, and instructional approaches. One of my goals as a teacher is to expose students to different ways of thinking and learning.

Children benefit from seeing concepts presented in multiple ways. In fact, it’s often surprising to watch students suddenly understand a skill they previously struggled with simply because it was explained differently.

This can be especially important for families preparing for the transition from homeschool to public school. In a traditional classroom setting, children will naturally encounter different teaching styles, instructional methods, personalities, and approaches to problem-solving. Flexibility and adaptability become very valuable skills.

When choosing curriculum, do your research and trust your instincts. Just because a program is created by a large publisher or has a strong social media following does not automatically mean it is effective for every child.

One resource that deeply impacted my own thinking was the podcast Sold a Story. It explores reading instruction, curriculum trends, and the long-term effects of ineffective literacy practices in a way that is both fascinating and, honestly, a little unsettling at times. I think it is valuable for both teachers and homeschooling parents.

I’ll also admit something that humbled me professionally.

As an upper elementary teacher, I was initially very resistant to some of the newer approaches to teaching math. Many of the strategies felt unfamiliar and unnecessarily complicated to me because they were completely different from the traditional algorithms I learned as a child.

At first, I approached those changes very reluctantly.

But over time, my perspective changed completely.

What I eventually realized was that while some of these methods felt unnatural to me as an adult who was already deeply comfortable with traditional procedures, many of them actually made tremendous sense to children who were learning the concepts for the first time.

I watched students develop stronger number sense and deeper conceptual understanding in ways I honestly did not expect.

That experience taught me an important lesson:
just because something is unfamiliar does not automatically make it ineffective.

Of course, not every new educational trend is beneficial. But new ideas are not automatically wrong simply because they are different from the way we learned.

Whether we are teaching in a classroom or homeschooling at the kitchen table, providing strong instruction requires us to stay willing to learn, reflect, adapt, and grow ourselves.

Avoid Over Generalizing

One thing I would encourage parents to be careful about is overgeneralizing when discussing public schools or students who attend public school-especially with your children.

When reading comments online — especially on social media — it can sometimes sound as though all public schools are unsafe environments filled with disrespectful students, constant behavioral issues, or families who do not value education. While difficult situations certainly exist in some schools, those portrayals are often exaggerated and oversimplified.

In reality, the students I teach are kind, respectful, intelligent, funny, and eager to learn. Their families care deeply about their education and work hard to support them.

If children repeatedly hear frightening stories or negative assumptions about public schools, the transition from homeschool to traditional school can begin to feel scary and intimidating before it even starts.

Instead, reassure your child that you would never place them in an unsafe environment. Help them approach the transition with curiosity and confidence rather than fear.

One of the best things parents can do is become involved in the school community before enrollment whenever possible. Attend events, visit the school, talk with teachers, meet other families, and research whether the school is a good fit for your child’s needs and personality.

Children absorb our fears and anxieties far more than we sometimes realize. The way adults talk about school often shapes the mindset children carry into the experience themselves.

Ultimately, teachers and parents want the same thing: for children to feel safe, supported, challenged, and successful.

Expect Traditional School to Feel Different

One of the most helpful things parents can do when preparing for the transition from homeschool to public school is simply acknowledging ahead of time that school will feel different.

Not necessarily worse.
Not necessarily better.
Just different.

Traditional schools operate very differently from home environments because teachers are responsible for large groups of children at one time. As a result, many routines and procedures that may initially feel unnecessary or restrictive actually exist for practical and safety reasons.

One example I frequently see discussed online is students having to ask permission to use the restroom.

From a homeschool perspective, that can understandably feel frustrating or overly controlling. At home, children naturally have far more freedom and flexibility throughout the day.

But in a school setting, teachers are legally and ethically responsible for knowing where students are at all times. If a child leaves the classroom, teachers must know whether that student is in the restroom, with the nurse, in the office, or somewhere else entirely. Procedures that may seem small are often tied directly to supervision and student safety.

The same is true for many other parts of traditional school:

waiting in line,
following schedules,
transitioning as a group,
raising hands,
sharing teacher attention,
and completing tasks within specific time limits.

These routines are not meant to diminish children’s individuality. They are systems designed to help large groups of students function safely and efficiently together.

For children transitioning from homeschool to traditional school, some of these adjustments may feel tiring or frustrating at first simply because they are unfamiliar. That’s normal.

One of the best ways parents can help is by presenting these differences neutrally rather than negatively. Children often take emotional cues from the adults around them. When parents frame school procedures as manageable adjustments instead of unfair punishments, children are more likely to approach the transition with flexibility and resilience.

At the same time, it’s okay for parents to ask questions, advocate respectfully for their children, and seek clarification when needed. A positive school experience is built through communication and partnership between families and educators.

The goal is not for children to lose the strengths they developed through homeschooling.
The goal is for them to learn how to successfully navigate a different environment while continuing to grow.

Final Thoughts

Transitioning from homeschool to public school can feel exciting, intimidating, emotional, and overwhelming — sometimes all at once. Like any major transition, there will likely be moments of adjustment for both parents and children.

The good news is that children are incredibly adaptable. With support, encouragement, and realistic expectations, most students gradually adjust to new routines, expectations, friendships, and learning environments. The transition does not have to be perfect in order to be successful.

Whether children learn at home or in a traditional classroom, parents and teachers ultimately want the same thing: children who feel safe, supported, challenged, and loved while developing the skills and confidence they need to grow.

The post Advice For Transitioning From Homeschool to Public School appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey.

Teaching multiplication facts is certainly a challenge. I surveyed more than 20,000 teachers about their biggest challenge teaching math, and the overwhelming response was that students don’t know their multiplication facts.

We’ve all experienced it. Some students easily memorize their multiplication facts, and other students memorize most of their multiplication facts but struggle with the more difficult ones. Then you have students who never manage to move beyond their 2s or 5s facts, which can create tremendous challenges.

While memorization is ideal, some students need to first become fluent before they can fully memorize their facts. Fact fluency means students can flexibly apply what they already know to efficiently solve multiplication problems. When I first started teaching, I wanted to skip straight to memorization, but I now realize that not all students can make that leap.

After many years of research and experience, I finally found a balanced system that works. Not only is it effective, it’s doesn’t create tons of extra work and stress for my students or the teacher! This system follows an intentional and systematic approach that provides consistency, engagement, and understanding.

In this post, I’ll first explain the parts of the program and then share ways you can utilize it in your classroom. I originally labeled the lessons with Monday, Tuesday, etc. because that’s the way my brain likes to organize. However, due to two years of virtual instruction, hybrid instruction, varied schedules, and so on, I’ve had to let that go. For the sake of flexibility I’ve gone with Day 1, Day 2, etc.

Teaching Multiplication Facts – Day 1-Build It

The first step for students is to SEE multiplication. On the first day of studying a set of multiplication facts, students create a grouping model for each set of facts (2×2, 2×3, 2×4, etc.). They can use any item as a manipulative. It certainly doesn’t have to be anything special.

If students complete this digitally, students drag the larger circle to indicate the number of groups. Then, students drag the squares to show the quantity in each group. It’s interesting to see who realizes they can simply add three more counters (or circles) for each fact. Students love thinking that they found a way to beat the system and don’t realize that they’ve found the relationship between repeated addition and multiplication, which is helpful for teaching multiplication facts.

Day 2-Multiple Representations

The next step teaching multiplication facts for students is to SEE the different representations of the math facts. In this activity, students sort representations of multiplication equations. There are arrays, repeated addition, and number sentences. This allows students to begin understanding what multiplication means.

In the digital version students drag a written description, array, repeated addition problem, and a multiplication equation to a single row. Each page has three rows and all the needed cards are included on that page, so students will not have to copy and paste any cards.

Teaching Multiplication Facts – Day 3-Visual Flashcards

At this point teaching multiplication facts, many students aren’t ready for traditional abstract flashcard practice. Instead, they can then use pictorial models of each multiplication problem as a flashcard. This pictorial model helps bridge concrete and abstract. I did include another set of flashcards where students can try to answer the multiplication problem using an abstract strategy.

If students are using the digital version, they create multiple representations of each set of facts. (Of course, you could have students complete both!) Students drag a square to a hundreds grid to show how to skip count. Then, they type a repeated addition representation. Students then drag blue squares to build an array of the fact. The last step is to drag an arrow to show multiplication on a number line.

Teaching Multiplication Facts Day 4-Word Problems

It’s important to teach math concepts in context. This means we shouldn’t save word problems for the end of our multiplication units. For each set of facts students should solve AND write multiplication word problems. For example, if students are working on their four facts they will solve two problems where four is a factor and write two problems where four is a factor.

The digital version looks almost identical to the paper version.

Day 5-Multiplication Strategies Booklet

When teaching multiplication facts, students should have the opportunity to WRITE about the strategies they use to solve multiplication problems. This allows students to internalize their learning. For each set of facts, students describe a strategy they could use to solve a multiplication problem. Students also represent problems using arrays, repeated addition, grouping models, and a number line.

Since the digital version Day 3 also includes quite a few of these tasks,  I included a multiplication game.  If students don’t have a partner, they can play color vs. color.

The Great Debate-Timed Test

We all want to encourage efficient strategies and automaticity, but timed tests aren’t as effective as instruction in developing these skills. Timed tests offer a good snapshot of how well students have memorized their facts, but are not a powerful teaching tool.

Rather than giving students a certain amount of problems to solve in a set amount of time, I have students time how long it took to complete all of the problems correctly. This alleviates most the stress that comes with a timed test. I also have students graph how long it took to complete the test to encourage students to look at their growth.

In the digital version, students click on a link to go to a Google Form where there is a short quiz. They must get each question correct before moving to the next question. Before beginning the quiz, students are prompted to start the included timer. Students are prompted to stop the time when they finish the quiz. Students graph how long it took them to complete the quiz.

Keeping Students Organized

I give students color coded bookmarks to use as a checklist. The bookmarks show exactly what is expected from students each week. The activities are listed in the order in which they should be completed. As students complete an activity, they check it off on the day it was completed. You can see these activities here!

You can even group the bookmarks together on a ring to keep everything in one place. There’s nothing wrong with keeping things bright and colorful when teaching multiplication facts;)

I added a few extras at the bottom of each bookmark, because these are things we do weekly, if not daily. I send home a Weekly Multiplication Game with students every Monday. These games only require dice or a set of playing cards, which I provide if students don’t have at home. This is an opportunity for fun practice and can be completely optional.

I also give students who need additional support a Multiplication Fact Booklet that will take them through each multiplication problem for that set of multiplication facts. This gives students the extra support they may need and it solidifies understanding. It’s a huge help teaching multiplication facts.

Xtra Math is another great practice tool. However, it’s important to keep in mind that it is a tool. Nothing replaces the conceptual activities where students actually work with multiplication facts.

You can read additional posts on teaching multiplication facts here and here. I’d love to hear about what you’ve tried that has been successful!

The post Teaching Multiplication Facts appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey.

It’s a Tuesday afternoon, and we’re well into the school year. I’ve taught my reading mini lesson and have already met with one guided reading group. I look around the room and everyone appears to be on task during their independent reading time. Things are running perfectly.

But not really.

One student “finishes” at least one or two chapter books during her independent reading time. She’s looking at the pages and turning pages at an appropriate rate, but she can’t tell you about the book.

Another student abandons every book he chooses. Even though I’ve working with him to choose books that he’ll enjoy, I’m not sure that he’s finished a book this year.

A little girl needs to get water. Then she needs to use the restroom. She decides that she needs to sharpen her already sharp pencil. She can’t seem to find a comfortable place to sit and changes locations every minute or two.

A little boy looks at the pages of the same book he has been “reading” for a month. We conference about the book, and I give him ample independent reading time, but it feels like he’s stuck in place.

All of these students have something in common. They’re “fake reading”. They know what it looks like to be reading, but they’re not really reading.

These students are running away from reading. In my experience, the vast majority of these students are children who have difficulty with reading. It’s the Matthew Effect for reading, and there are many different causes for this difficulty. The post does not focus on those causes but on strategies to eliminate or reduce fake reading. You can read more about that here.

Step 1-Expectations/Procedures

My first strategy to eliminate fake reading to explicitly teach classroom expectations and procedures for reading workshop. If you dive right in to reading workshop without establishing clear procedures, it’s destined to end in chaos.

You have to teach students how to act in reading workshop, how to choose a book, what independent reading time should look like, etc. It’s important to discuss and practice your expectations and procedures for reading workshop, specifically independent reading time.

At the beginning of the school year, I display reading workshop anchor charts that remind students about what to expect during during reading workshop.

Another anchor chart reviews how to choose a book, and during that lesson I teach students the actual procedures in choosing a book, as well as give students strategies on how to pick a book they will enjoy.

During the beginning of the school year I also go into detail on the expectations for independent reading time. When creating these charts, I like to give students the opportunity to input ideas and these charts are a working document. I add and take away as necessary.

The clearer you are with your expectations, the more smoothly your reading workshop will run. I’ve written a much more detailed post on teaching reading workshop procedures, and you can find that post here.

Step 2-Comprehension Strategies

I often think of my procedural lessons as the first wide net that catches some students. There are typically a handful of students that could hit the ground running with reading comprehension. That’s typically students who have already learned to love reading.

However to avoid “fake reading” and to develop students’ reading comprehension most students need instruction on comprehension strategies. Once I finish my procedural lessons, I begin teaching comprehension strategies for the next several weeks.

I start by teaching students to visualize as they read. Creating mental images allows students to “see” the setting and the action in the text.

After teaching visualizing, I teach students how to make connections. Once this becomes natural for students, I don’t have them share their connections every time they read. Instead, it becomes a natural part of reading. I later teach students that good readers ask questions before, during, and after reading. Once again, this will eventually become a natural part of reading. I also teach question-answer relationships to students by teaching different types of questions.

I also work with students on making predictions as they read. It’s important for students to understand that their brain is constantly revising its predictions to adapt to new information and content. It’s not important if their prediction is “right” or “wrong” but that making predictions is a comprehension tool. I also teach students how to write fiction and informational summaries which helps students synthesize information.

Once I finish teaching reading strategies, I’m ready to move on to more complex reading instruction. You can see each of the printables above here.

Step 3-Guided Reading Groups

After all of the procedural lessons and comprehension lessons, there will sill be “fake readers” and students who need support with reading comprehension. This is where you get to really dig-in and address individual student needs. There is a lot going on in guided reading groups, so rather than recreating the wheel, I’ll share my favorite post on how to use guided reading groups in an upper elementary classroom.

Step 4-Chapter Check-Ups

After teaching procedures, comprehension strategies, and starting guided reading groups, you may still have a few students fake reading. In addition to possible interventions, I do have one other strategy that is quite helpful-Chapter Check-Ups.

The check-ups range in guided reading levels J-O. This isn’t for student who can successfully read a level O (or higher) book without scaffolding. Instead, it is for students who do not independently read and comprehend beginning level chapter books.

Frequently, students who need these check-ups have the reading ability to comprehend texts but have developed habits and behaviors that significantly impair their comprehension-especially during independent reading time. This avoidance behavior leads to fake reading which snowballs into more difficulty with reading comprehension.

The check-ups do not take the place of students’ guided reading groups or other reading instruction. Instead, they are a scaffolding and accountability tool for students’ independent reading time. As students read, they answer the chapter-by-chapter questions in the check-up. There are only a couple of questions per chapter to prevent this from taking away from students’ independent reading time.

As bad habits are broken and new habits develop, I begin weaning students off these check-ups. The goal is for students to no longer need the support to successfully comprehend texts. This forces students to slow down and to think about what they are reading.

It is completely up to you on how flexible you want to be with your students’ reading levels. While in no way do I want a student defined or bound by a reading level, I have found that some students to need extra support in choosing books that allow them to be successful. You will have to use your own judgement for each individual student.

Students turn in one completed page at a time, and I check their answers before they move on to the next page. I have students correct any incorrect answers before moving forward in their book.

I was sure to include an answer key, because that’s one of the most important parts of this resource. While I would LOVE to say that I have read all the books in my classroom library, I simply cannot keep up with my students. I also included an editable copy of each check-up in case you need to make changes.

This is a growing resource. Throughout this school year and the following school years, I will add any Chapter Check-Ups I complete to this resource. You will be able to access the new additions at no additional cost. If you have any requests, I will try my best to add the books for you! You can email me at ashleigh_60@hotmail.com .

Books Included

Level J
Henry and Mudge
Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble
Level K
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise
Level L
Cam Jansen-The Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
Cam Jansen-The Mystery of the UFO
Cam Jansen-The Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones
Horrible Harry
King and Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code
Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny
Level M
Super Rabbit All-Stars
The Princess in Black
Judy Moody: Triple Pet Trouble
Level N
8 Class Pets
Dragon Masters-Power of the Fire Dragon
Dragon Masters-Secret of the Water Dragon
Dragon Masters-Song of the Poison Dragon
Miss Child Has Gone Wild
Level O
Erie Elementary
Escape From Egypt
Greetings From Somewhere-Mystery of the Gold Coin
Hero Dog
Stealing the Sword

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These Day After Halloween activities are here to help!! I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the only days more challenging than Halloween is the day AFTER Halloween. There is nothing quite like a room full of children who’ve eaten nothing but candy over the past 24 hours.  I’ve heard many teachers say that November 1st should be a school holiday, and I think that sounds like a great idea!  However, I don’t see that happening anytime soon, so I’ve tried to find ways to work with it, rather than against it.

In this post I’ve shared of few of my favorite activities for keep students engaged and on task the day after Halloween. Of course, you can squeeze these in any time! You don’t have to wait!  You can find all of the activities here.

Nutrition Facts Math

Halloween Candy Characteristics

Descriptive Writing

Students can also write a descriptive writing paragraph about a piece of candy. This is great to tie in visualizing and sensory images! I included a few different forms, because it seems like every year my students need something different for writing. You have have students read the descriptive paragraph and try to guess what type of candy was being described.

Candy Graphs

No day after Halloween activity would be complete without having students graph their candy. If you do this, you may want to remind students to bring some of their Halloween candy to school. I don’t have students graph every type of candy they have. If students don’t have candy, they may work in groups or use extra candy. To make this activity more advanced, have students use the graph to write additive and multiplicative comparison statements.

Day After Halloween Activities – Economics

Halloween STEM-Pumpkin Catapult

There is a Halloween STEM activity with a pumpkin catapult. Originally, I planned to use mini pumpkins for this activity, but I chickened out and bought pumpkin candy corn.

Hopefully these Day After Halloween Activities will make the transition of going back to a regular school day on the day a little easier for the students and teachers. Maybe these lessons and activities will help it be a fun (or tolerable) day after all!

If you’re looking for even more Halloween ideas and activities, be sure to check out this post, because it’s full of ideas.

The post The Day After Halloween Activities appeared first on Ashleigh's Education Journey.

These Halloween math activities are a blast for students! They’re so much fun and full of great math content. Here’s an overview of the Halloween math activities included in the Halloween edition of the Multiplication Math Centers.

As with the other centers in a booklet format, everything can be copied into a single booklet. This way students don’t need to keep up with recording sheets. It’s nice having everything in one place.

Halloween Math Activities – Candy Corn Division

This Halloween math activity is a great way to review the concept of division. Students take a set number of candy corns and partition it equal into either equal groups or into groups with equal amounts. You can grab cauldrons from a party supply store to make it even more fun for students.

Activity 2-Spooky Recipes

In this Halloween math activity, students receive a price list of ingredients for spooky (gross) recipes. They use the price list to answer multi-part word problems. This is definitely challenging for students, but they always enjoy this task.

Halloween Activity 3-Picture Puzzles

Picture puzzles aren’t just for younger students. They can be valuable for upper elementary students too. You can see how students work with larger numbers in these puzzles. You could also have students work with fractional picture puzzles or puzzles with decimals. In this activity, there are multiple picture puzzles for students to complete.

Activity 4-Haunted Math

This Halloween math activity is similar to the game of Clue. Students use deductive reasoning and thinking about 10 and 100 times the value of numbers to determine who stole the candy from the Halloween party and where they hid the candy. The questions are centered around the value of digits.

Activity 5-Costume Shop and Activity 6-Fall Festival

Both of these Halloween math activities are problem solving activities that don’t include any task cards or special materials. It requires a lot of application, and students won’t be able to determine an immediate answer. That often frustrates students, but this problem solving is so important for them.

Halloween Activity 7- Logic

These logic puzzles are so helpful for students-fun too! If they’ve never done anything like this before, you’ll definitely want to model how to complete a few together. Otherwise students will be quite confused. However, once they see what to do, they can quickly catch on.

Activity 8-Geometric Haunted House

In this center students use various geometric terms to create a haunted house. I included a separate page of grid paper that students can draw their house on, as well as example images of each geometric term.

Halloween Math Activity 9-Three Act Task

This is such an awesome and thought provoking activity. I especially love the fact that the Google Form won’t let students move forward without estimates and sharing what they know and need to know. Since it is quite challenging computation, I do let students use the calculator on their Chromebooks for the task.

Center 10-Sweet Math

Students can use actual bags of candy-I highly recommend empty bags-for the activity or use online nutrition fact sources. Students use the information to solve word problems (many multi-step) about the nutrition facts.

Halloween Math Activities 11 & 12-Fall Festival

The final Halloween math activities take a little more time to complete than the other activities, so I combined this into two rotations. In the task, students design a fall festival where every booth must have a set perimeter or area. After completing the booth outlines, students can decorate their festival.

Hopefully, you’ve found something you can use in these Halloween math activities! You can find these centers here. If you’re looking for something different, you can find TONS of additional Halloween ideas in this blog post!

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Teaching students how to restate the question and support their answer with text evidence is not always the easiest (or fun) part of the year.  However, I also know that it isn’t an option. Restating the question and providing text evidence is something I have to teach and a skill students will be expected to demonstrate for years.

I was discussing this with my 7th grade daughter who is now an expert on….everything, and she said that if I had to teach it, I better make it fun.

I also think teaching students to restate the question is something that should be taught as early in the school year as possible, because I want to set the precedent in how to answer questions right away. There have been years when I waited too long to introduce this and bad habits were quickly developed. I know make this one of the first things I teach in reading.

Restate the Question

My first “real lesson” taught students how to restate the question. To get students up and moving around the classroom, I created a matching game. In the activity, students received either a question card or an answer card and had to find the student with the corresponding card. I wrote questions and answers that all centered around space to make it a little more challenging.

That was a great introduction, and then I followed the activity by having students restate different questions. The questions were not academic questions but were questions that gave me more insight into my students’ thoughts and feelings about reading.

It broke my heart to see how many students said they were nervous about being embarrassed about reading in front of the class. A conversation about that moved to the top of my to-do list.

Proving the Answer

In the following lesson, I extended restating the question with answering the question using RAPP. There are tons of acronyms out there, and I’m not particularly attached to this one. However, it’s what is used in third grade, so I try to keep things consistent for students.

I read the book The Invisible Boy and have a discussion about some of the characters in the text. If you’re not familiar with this book, it really is a must-read book, especially for upper elementary students. It deals with feeling alone or invisible, as well as how we may intentionally or accidentally exclude others.

Then, I model how to use the graphic organizer to answer the question. I explained that I was most like Emilio, because I want to do the right thing and include others, but I have a tendency to be shy. Sometimes it takes a leader like Justin to get me out of my comfort zone. Of course the modeling is useful for students, but I think they also appreciate me opening up to them and showing my own vulnerability.

Proofreading is often overlooked by students, so I included a little checklist. I try to emphasize that there should not be any spelling errors in words that are taken directly from the question. At this point of the year, if they can do that and begin sentences with capital letters and end sentences with a punctuation mark, I’m happy.

Extra Practice

If you see the need, you can certainly give students additional practice. For extra practice, you can use this graphic organizer that can be used with any text or question. As I move forward with my reading lessons, I plan to weave in one of these a day. There are a couple different formats for you, because one size does not fit all.

Hopefully these ideas will help you out as you teach your students to answer text dependent questions. To learn more about what I will teach the following week, check out this blog post. To download the resources in this post, click here!

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